LOS ANGELES — If Ty Simpson develops into a top NFL quarterback who leads them to a Super Bowl title, the Los Angeles Rams will look back at the 2026 draft as one of their shrewdest and best in history.

Until then, it will be remembered for a news conference.

Yeah, that one.

The post-Day 1 session on Thursday night when coach Sean McVay and...Read more

NEW YORK — Some teams pick players in the NFL draft like they’re throwing darts. The Giants have been one of them under GMs Dave Gettleman and Joe Schoen.

But John Harbaugh refreshingly brought a defined roster philosophy to this weekend’s process that guided the Giants in a specific direction toward a clear identity of being a bigger, ...Read more

Despite stepping away to be with his family, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he would be available to the front office as it finished assembling the team’s 2026 draft class Saturday.

According to ESPN, the team had “constant communication” with Vrabel during the draft’s final rounds. But speaking at the start of the seventh round ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Late Friday evening, I received a text from an old friend who was born and raised in the greater Cleveland area.

“Did we switch franchises?” he asked.

I genuinely didn’t know how to respond.

For years, I remember watching Browns fans obsess over NFL draft weekend. Heck, they made an entire movie about the city’s ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Jets addressed their run defense to begin Day 3 of the NFL draft as Gang Green selected Florida State defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. on Saturday afternoon.

The Jets also picked Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik at 110th overall after trading 128th and 140th picks to the Bengals to move up. They also received the 199th pick...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Tyree Wilson era is officially over in Las Vegas.

In a surprising draft day move, the Raiders dealt the former first-round pick to New Orleans along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for the 150th pick on Saturday. The Raiders selected Arizona safety Dalton Johnson with the pick.

Wilson was never able to find a sustained ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Daniel Jeremiah traces his rise as an NFL draft analyst to two seemingly unrelated events: a prominent football reporter showing up in his living room to visit a televangelist, and randomly bumping into a college roommate of his brother in a press box.

First, understand that Jeremiah is not just one in a sea of people evaluating...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Few cities in the world have repeatedly proven to love professional sports teams more than Arlington, Texas, which does not justify what its elected officials did to its citizens in a recent announcement with the Dallas Cowboys.

Rather than give Arlington’s voting citizens the chance to say “yes” or “no” to a ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — It took 12 years, but the Dallas Cowboys finally got some payback for a draft-day heist with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And they even partnered with their hated division rival to do so.

In 2014, the Cowboys were on the phone with Ryan Shazier and were prepared to take the highly regarded Ohio State linebacker with the 16th overall...Read more

BALTIMORE — The NFL announced Friday night that the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys will play in Rio de Janeiro this season, as The Baltimore Sun previously reported earlier this month.

The Sept. 27 game will take place in Week 3 at Maracanã Stadium, site of the 2016 Olympic Games.

It is one of nine international games slated for this ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles are strengthening their edge rusher corps via a draft-day trade, acquiring veteran outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard from the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced on Friday.

In exchange for Greenard and a 2026 seventh-rounder (No. 244 overall), the Eagles are sending their third-round, No. 98 overall...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco 49ers picked up an additional draft pick Friday by sending starting linebacker Dee Winters to the Dallas Cowboys for a fifth-round draft pick, No. 152 overall.

Winters, 26, started all 17 games for the 49ers last season and led the team in tackles with 101. He also started 10 of 15 games in 2024.

The Cowboys...Read more

MIAMI — Carson Beck opted to stay in college football for an extra season after his draft stock plummeted following a rough 2024 season at Georgia that ended with him tearing the UCL in his right elbow.

That led the quarterback to the Miami Hurricanes — and on a path to redefining himself.

And while he didn’t fully recover the stock he...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears know who they are. Or at least, they know who they want to be.

Since coach Ben Johnson arrived a little more than a year ago, his vision and decisiveness have helped give the Bears front office a clear picture of the type of players who fit his team.

“This staff is unbelievable with just giving clarity,” Bears...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Quarterback Ty Simpson arrived in Los Angeleson on Friday — and the Rams' first-round draft pick sounded as if he couldn't wait to start learning from coach Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford.

"The best head coach in the league, the best quarterback in the league, the best ... franchise in the league — it's a perfect situation,...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Two things can be true at once. Case in point: The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Makai Lemon because they saw value in trading up for the Southern Cal wide receiver and because they need a replacement for the likely-departing A.J. Brown.

But need at the position was never likely to influence how Eagles general manager Howie ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — The dust has settled and the fallout has begun after the Pittsburgh Steelers seemingly fumbled their opportunity to draft the wide receiver they so desperately needed and instead settled for offensive tackle Max Iheanachor.

I don’t hate the pick and actually feel bad for Iheanachor as he has become collateral damage in the ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — He said all the right things, but you knew he would.

Say this for Fernando Mendoza: He’s as mature off the football field as he appeared on it during a Heisman Trophy-winning season at Indiana.

And get this: He still views himself as an underdog, as the guy who was the 288th recruit in Florida coming out of high school.

And ...Read more

NEW YORK — We won’t truly know who won or lost the first round of the 2026 NFL draft for a few years, but the decisions by a few teams Thursday night certainly stood out.

After the Las Vegas Raiders selected quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall — a long-expected formality — the rest of the first round from downtown Pittsburgh was ...Read more